Padfoot's Puppy
by Solo Rider
Summary: Sirius has a daughter, a daughter he never knew about. Now, he's finally met her, but if he tells her the truth, he could be the reason of her death... it's better than sounds, please R
1. Chapter 1: Amber

Disclaimer: I do not own any Harry Potter characters, but any characters you do not recognize belong to me, and only me.

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter One

'Amber'

The day dawned sunny after a full night of rain. Already, the sun had dried most of the moisture left by the rain.

Though a beautiful day, only one girl was out enjoying it. She was of medium height and quite slender. Her raven-black hair fell a little past her shoulders, complimenting her icy blue eyes nicely.

She was pretty, but her clothes did nothing to show it off. She was wearing all boys' clothes. A sweater so big, it reached her knees and was too long for her arms, she had it folded several times, but still, her hands were covered. Her shirt was almost as long as the sweater and the pants were too long and baggy. The girl had the bottoms folded so her feet could fit out. All the clothes were too big and all were black.

It had taken the girl thirty minutes to hike from the cabins, through the trees, so that she was now sitting on a flat part of a steep, rocky cliff. Trees bordered the cliff, casting it in shadows, while the sunlight fought to get through. Several patches of moss had found places to grow, but there wasn't really anything except rocks.

The girl came here often, to think and to get away from her adopted parents, if you could call them that. Narcrissa and Lucius Malfoy hadn't technically adopted her; they were just taking care of her because of a promise, at least until Voldemort found a use for her.

She shivered at the very thought. She'd met Voldemort only once, just a few months ago. Though it had only been for a few minutes, it had felt like an eternity to her.

"Let me see the girl!" The dark lord hissed. Lucius pushed her forward, holding tightly onto her shoulder, his boney fingers digging into it. Shaking, the girl had tried to hide her fear, but she was unsuccessful.

"You are afraid, that is good child, you know when to abandon bravery…" Voldemort hissed. The girl hadn't said anything; she just stood there, trembling, too scared to move. Voldemort had laughed, sending shivers down the girl's spine.

"Take her away; I'll alert you when I find a use for her." He said.

The girl shook her head, trying to rid her mind of the memory. Instead, she turned her thoughts to others.

Ever since she was five-years-old, Narcrissa and Lucius had raised her, since the night her mother died.

Usually, whenever the girl asked about that night and her mother, she was turned away, given a chore to do. Lately, Lucius had taken to hitting her whenever she asked, and the girl quickly learned that it was an off-limits question.

But one night, two-summers ago, while the girl was doing the laundry and Nacrissa had been supervising, the girl had been able to get Narcrissa to talk.

"I knew your mother while I was in school, we were very close friends, even though I was in Slytherian and she was in Ravenclaw. A brighter witch, I never knew." Narcrissa said with a smile.

"After we graduated, we lost contact. I got married and had Draco. Last I heard, she had some boyfriend and was planning to get married. Then, one night, several years later, she showed up at our doorstep during a storm, with you in tow."

"Amber never told me what happened to her during those years, or whose child you were. She just kept asking me to protect you. I promised her I would, and she calmed down a bit." By now, Narcrissa's eyes had filled with sorrow and regret, even some guilt. The girl had often wondered from that day on, why there would be guilt in Narcrissa's eyes.

"I asked her your name, and she told me. I then asked if the father had named you that. "No," she had said, shaking her head, "no, I did. I promised some." After that, she refused to speak. So I left you with Draco's nanny, and brought her upstairs to a bedroom so she could rest." At this point, Narcrissa's eyes had filled with tears, some trickling down her cheeks.

"In the morning, when I went to wake her, she was already dead." Narcrissa said; her voice barely a whisper. She had been too upset to continue the story, but the girl knew the rest of it.

Her mother had hung herself. When the little girl had awoken, she had immediately asked for her mother.

It had been Lucius who broke the news to her, and confused when she started crying, he had hit her.

Even now, the girl could remember the confusion and hate. Confusion for suddenly having no family and being left with strangers. Hate for the man who had hit her, hate that had steadily increased over the years.

But there was more to the story, more that Narcrissa didn't know.

Before trudging up the walk to the Malfoy's house, her mother had turned to her daughter, putting a chain and crest around her neck.

"Whatever you do, do not let anyone see this, no one. No matter how much you trust them, no one must see this. If they do, they can use it against you, and your father." Her mother had said; her voice dropping down to a hoarse whisper. The little girl had nodded, and tucked the chain inside her shirt.

Now, still sitting upon the rock, the girl played with the chain absentmindedly. She did that often when she thought of her mother. It was the last thing her mother had left, and the only thing she had of her father.

Whenever she thought of her mother, the girl's thoughts often wandered to her father.

She had never met him, never seen a photograph, or even been told his name.

"I'm sure he's just some muggle, though your mother had assured us that he was pureblood." Narcrissa had answered once, when the girl had asked if she had known her father.

When her mother had been alive, the girl had often asked her about her father. Over time, the girl had learned a little bit about him.

"He was an amazing wizard, handsome too. I knew him in school, and I'll love no other like I love him." Her mother had said; a dreamy, faraway look in her eyes.

The girl sighed, pulling her knees to her chest. How she wished she had known her father, and that her mother was still alive.

So lost in thought, Amber, her mother's namesake, didn't notice the big, bear-like dog until he was right beside her.

**Author's Note: Here, I hope you guys like this, it just came to me when I was camping…too bored I guess…yeah, please R&R**


	2. Chapter 2: The Meeting

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Two

'The Meeting'

Amber jumped, standing straight up when she noticed the dog. She had managed to grab a rock as she stood, and was prepared to hurl it at the dog. Only when a pitiful whine escaped the dog's throat did she pause, relaxing a bit. She knew this dog.

"Don't you ever do that again!" She exclaimed, her arm dropping shakily to her side, still grasping the rock so tight her knuckles were turning white. The dog cocked his head slightly, his long tongue hanging out of his mouth.

Every year, just before Draco got out of school, Narcissa and Lucius rented a cabin. The cabin was near a huge forest, and every time they were there, Amber spent all her time exploring the forest.

This year, on her second day back, Amber had come across the dog caught in a rabbit snare. Carefully, she had managed to free the dog, and bandage his paw. Since then, the dog came to see her every day, to listen to her talk and to explore with her.

"You're too quiet! You should have made some kind of sound as you were coming up to me Mister!" Amber scolded, using her nickname for the dog. With a sigh, Amber sat down, her arms around her knees. The dog walked over to her and nudged her arm lightly with his nose.

"Or else I was too deep in thought again!" She said; sadness evident in her voice. With another sigh, she rested her head on her knees. The dog whimpered softly and sat down on the rocks, raising one paw and resting it on Amber's arm. Amber forced a smile. Whenever she got sad, the dog always did that.

"I can't help it Mister, my life hasn't exactly gone the way I planned it to go." Amber said, tears filling her eyes. The dog whimpered softly, as if encouraging her to go on.

"I never get to see my parents, I'm sure I'm never going to see them again! I can't go to school, I don't have any actual friends, and the people I live with hate me!" She said, loathing filling her voice. The dog stared at her, his eyes filled with what looked like pity. _That can't be, he's just a dog, he doesn't know what I'm saying, and he defiantly can't pity me! _Amber thought. Suddenly, for reasons unknown to her until much later, she was filled with rage for the dog, rage like she had never felt before.

Jumping to her feet, Amber glared angrily down at the dog. The dog stood up, confusion evident on his face.

"Get out of here you stupid dog, get!" Amber yelled, pretending to go kick the dog. In a second, the midnight-black dog jumped out her reach, his eyes filled with a look of betrayal.

"Get out of here and stop pretending you care!" Amber yelled, grabbing the rock she had intended to throw at him only minutes ago. With much force, she hurled it at the dog. The dog yelped loudly as the rock found its mark on his left hind leg. Amber grabbed another rock.

"Get out of here!" She yelled, getting ready to throw the rock. With a look that Amber was sure was a glare; the dog disappeared into the trees and out of sight.

Slowly, Amber fell to her knees, watching where the dog had disappeared into the trees. She sat there for close to fifteen minutes, not moving a muscle, thinking of what she had done. _Why was I so angry? Mister didn't do anything to me! It just felt like, it felt like, well, like he was my father! But that's impossible! Mister is a dog and my father is defiantly not a dog! _Amber thought, shaking her head viciously. _Don't be so sure…_ a voice said at the back of her mind.

"That's crazy! My father is probably dead, and there is no way in hell he could be a dog!" Amber cried, her voice filled with anger. Staggering to her feet, she shook her head again, trying to clear her mind.

She wandered around aimlessly, lost in thought. Occasionally, Amber glanced over her shoulder to see if the dog had followed her. To her relief, he hadn't. _Well you did hit him pretty hard with that rock._ She thought to herself.

She felt bad for hitting the dog, but there was another part of her that was glad she had. It felt as though some of the anger at her father that had built up over time had finally been released. Amber didn't know why, it hadn't been her father, just some stray dog.

When her thoughts finally cleared, Amber realized she was in a strange part of the forest. True, she did explore much of the forest, but she usually stayed pretty close to the cabins, in case something happened.

Trembling slightly, Amber paused to study where she was. The trees were closer, casting a bigger, darker shadow on her. She shivered and unsuccessfully tried to zip her sweater up. Finally, frustrated, she gave up and walked on.

"Up ahead, Amber could barely make out a clearing through the trees. If she got there, she would be able to read the starts and figure out how to get back to the cabin.

Her mother had taught her how to read the stars ever since Amber was old enough to talk.

"It was your father who taught me how to read them. He loved to spend hours just staring at the stars. He used to point out all the constellations to me." Her mother had said; a pained expression on her face.

Amber stopped before she reached the clearing and listened hard. She was sure she had heard something, not the wind, something else.

No, it defiantly wasn't the wind; it sounded like voices, low, hushed voices. Slowly, Amber inched closer, curious to know what the voices were saying. She was careful to stay safely hidden behind the trees.

"Voldemort…surely has." One voice, a harsh one, muttered. Amber strained to hear the reply of the others. It was several minutes before someone answered.

"No doubt…only if we…Harry says…" Another voice, defiantly a man, said. Amber felt chills go up her spine. Did they mean Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived? Lucius had long ago instilled a hate for Harry Potter in Amber, and every year, Draco came home and told her all the horrible things Potter did to him.

"Is it right though? Voldemort… Lucius Malfoy has…" A woman's voice said. Amber inched a little closer, dying to hear what they were saying about Lucius.

"That boy of his, Draco…" A third male's voice said. Frustrated, Amber moved a little closer, carefully to remain hidden behind a tree. Now, from her new position, she could see who was talking.

There were four people, three men and one woman. It was too dark for Amber to make out any more details, even though she had amazing vision. Draco often called her Hawk Eyes.

The woman had started to say something, but the man with the harsh voice interrupted her.

"We're being watched." He said in a hoarse whisper. Immediately, his three companions jumped and pulled out their wands, looking around nervously.

"By who?" Amber heard on of the mean whisper. Amber felt the fear rising up in her.

"By that girl." The man with the harsh voice said calmly, pointing directly at where Amber was hidden.

**Author's Note: I hope you guys like this chapter, and thanks to everyone who reviewed. And did anyone besides me notice that I spelt Narcissa's name wrong? I was spelling it Narcrissa, not Narcissa…**


	3. Chapter 3: Chase

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Three

'Chase'

Amber didn't stay to see how the man knew she was there, the second he pointed at her, she bolted. Some might call her cowardly, but she didn't care, she wasn't foolhardy. She refused to wait and see if the four people were allies or enemies.

She ran, dodging trees, jumping stumps, running so fast her chest felt like it would explode. But she didn't dare slow down even just a bit. Behind her, she could hear the people shouting.

If the people were Death Eaters, than she would be safe. If they weren't, well Amber didn't want to think about that.

Amber was forced to slow down a bit when she came to the top of a hill. If she went down the hill at full speed, she would surely fall.

She didn't slow down enough though; Amber hit a small root, and couldn't stop as she somersaulted over. Somehow, she managed to stop somersaulting, but she couldn't stop her descent as she rolled down the hill.

It was tree that finally stopped Amber's rolling trip down the hill. She hit it with such speed that all she could se for several long seconds was complete darkness. She felt paralyzed, and it filled her with such fear she couldn't keep her thoughts straight.

"She's over here!" The shout filled Amber with more dread than she'd ever felt before. It was enough to make Amber force herself out of the paralysis and stand up. Her vision was only beginning to come back; she could barely distinguish trees from the darkness surrounding them.

Taking a few shaky steps, Amber's first instinct was to sit safely on the ground, unable to trust her own two legs. Fighting the instinct, Amber forced herself to run blindly forward, her arms straight out in front of her to give her a seconds warning if she were to run into something.

Slowly, her vision started to come back well enough that Amber could avoid running into anymore trees. Instead, she managed to trip over a stump that was too dark for her to distinguish it from the dark ground.

Scrambling to her feet, Amber hesitated before resuming her fun. Her vision hadn't completely returned, so she relied on her other senses to give her an idea of what was going on around her.

She could hear someone coming up a distance behind her. Whoever it was wasn't running, and walked with a slight limp. They were breathing hard and a smell of stale alcohol was carried on a breeze over to Amber.

Knowing that she could see enough to continue running, especially if someone was so close, Amber chose instead to hide inside a bunch of bushes. It was uncomfortable, and there were a few thorns pricking her skin, but she was well hidden, the only way anyone could see her was if they were to climb inside the bushes.

It didn't take long for the already dark forest to become pitch black. Judging by the little bit of sky she could see, Amber guessed that it was close to eleven pm, nearly two hours since she'd throw the rock at Mister.

Close to an hour later, Amber finally moved. She hadn't heard anything but crickets for a long time, and her body ached so much she couldn't stand it anymore. She crawled out of the bushes and stood straight up, picking a few dead leaves out of her hair. Slowly, she stepped forward, frocking herself to walk. Her mind was screaming at her to run, but Amber knew she had to look around first. There was still a chance someone was around.

Placing each foot down gently, Amber was careful not to make a sound. It'd take a while to get back to the cabins, but this way, no one would be able to hear her.

Soon enough, Amber started to recognize where she was. She was getting close to the rocky cliff, where she'd last seen Mister. Though she could follow a trail from the cliff down to the cabins, Amber didn't dare go there. If she was seen, there was no place to hide.

"Stupefy!" Amber jumped forward, causing the spell to miss her and hit the tree she'd been standing in front of. As pieces of bark flew of the tree, Amber bolted forward into a run.

It was easier now for Amber to run. Her vision was back and she knew this part of the forest like the back of her hand. She had long ago found all the best hiding places, most she was sure had never been found by another human, wizard or not.

Amber never got a chance to hide though. On the way to a tiny cave she'd found only days ago with Mister, she nearly ran into someone. Only by skidding to a stop and falling over herself did Amber avoid running into the man. Instead, she was in a pile at his feet.

"Get up you stupid girl!" Lucius Malfoy said, grabbing Amber's sweater and pulling her to her feet. Amber couldn't help it, a sigh of relief escaped her lips; never did she think that she'd ever be so glad to see Lucius.

"Where have you been?" Lucius snarled, pulling Amber close to him. Squirming to get away, Amber choked out an answer.

"I-I got lost." She lied, too scared to tell Lucius the truth. She knew that if she did, he'd freak and never let her leave his sight.

"Well you better not get lost again! Do you know what the Dark Lord would do if you disappeared?" He asked; his voice low and even. Terrified, Amber shook her head.

"N-no." She stuttered. Lucius pulled her a little closer, his grip on her sweater starting to choke her.

"And you don't want to find out!" He hissed, releasing his hold on Amber's sweater. Amber almost fell, gasping for air.

"Now come along, quickly!" Lucius said, giving Amber a whack on her knee with his cane. Gritting her teeth, Amber forced herself to ignore the pain and follow Lucius. Out of the corner of her eye Amber was sure she saw something black back into the bushes and out of sight.

**Author's Note: I really did not like writing this chapter; I found it kind of boring and actually pretty hard to write. But it needed to be done, and I hope you guys like it more than I do.**


	4. Chapter 4: Caught

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Four

'Caught'

For the next few days, Amber stayed inside to cabin, too afraid to leave. She knew that whoever had chased her was probably still out there, just waiting for her to return to the forest. Though she hadn't heard much, she'd heard some of what they'd been talking about, and from the sounds of it, they were the enemy.

Finally though, Amber could take it no longer, she had to go outside. Narcissa gave her an endless amount of chores, while Lucius would give her a painful whack with his cane whenever she walked by him.

Amber decided that risking the chance of being caught was better than being stuck with Narcissa and Lucius for one more minute. Either way, she was going to be with people she didn't like, and who didn't like her.

Towards dusk, Amber snuck out of the cabin. She decided that she would only go to the rocky cliff, and stay for about an hour. She'd be back before dark, and before Narcissa and Lucius would notice that she was gone.

It wasn't hard to sneak out, Lucius and Narcissa weren't the most alert people out there, and Amber had learned how to walk like a cat. It came from countless times of sneaking out to get away from all the hectic commotion that went on. Occasionally, Draco would sneak out with Amber, and the two of them would wander around the town for hours on end, playing pranks on the townspeople, and just having a good time. Draco was the closest thing Amber had to a friend. Draco and Mister, but Amber was sure Mister wouldn't really be feeling all that nice to her after she threw that rock at him.

Amber ran pretty much the whole way to the cliff. She was eager to get there and just think, something she rarely had time for with Narcissa and Lucius around.

With a sigh, Amber turned her thoughts to the strange meeting between the group of people. They had known both Lucius and Draco, and Amber had gotten the impression that they didn't like either one. That had to mean that the four people were the enemy, the Death Eaters all like Lucius, and they wouldn't dare say anything bad about Draco.

Soon, Amber was at the cliff. She was naturally fast, but being inside for the past few days had given her what seemed like an endless supply of energy.

The sight of the familiar cliff immediately calmed Amber down. It was her favorite place in the world, and when she was there, Amber felt like nothing could touch her. As though she was safe from all the chaos spreading everywhere else.

Amber had intended to sit at the top of the cliff and watch the sunset, something she and her mother used to do, but Amber hadn't yet reached the cliff when she heard a low growl. Turning around slowly, Amber was surprised to see Mister standing at the edge of the rocks.

"Mister…" Amber whispered, letting her voice trail off. She felt horrible for hitting the dog with a rock. She wanted him to know that she was sorry, though she knew he wouldn't understand.

"Mister I-" She started, getting cut off by a snarl from Mister. Slowly, with his eyes locked on Amber, the dog moved forward, his teeth bared.

"Mister?" Amber said fearfully, backing up a few steps. The dog advanced forward, his unblinking eyes staring straight into Amber's terrified ones.

Amber backed up some more, until she was back up against the cliff. Moving a little quicker, the dog advanced some more on her, growling menacingly.

One thing her mother had taught Amber was that bravery was a great thing, but sometimes it was better to just run. This was one of those times.

Turning quickly, Amber started to scramble up the cliff, but she hadn't even gotten a third of the way up before she felt a sharp pain in her right leg. Then she was falling. Amber screamed as she hit the ground.

Amber rolled onto her back, and almost screamed again. Mister was gone, and in his place was a gaunt man with wild brown eyes. He had knotty black hair and a wide grin.

"Get over!" He grunted, pushing Amber onto her stomach. He covered her mouth with his hand, and Amber was too surprised to struggle. So Mister was really an Animagus. That explained so much, why she had seen the pity in his eyes, why he had seemed so human.

"Now don't make a sound!" The man said. Slowly, he uncovered Amber's mouth, and she felt him change back into the dog. Too terrified to move or make a sound, Amber waited in terror for what was to come.

Throwing back his head, the big black dog let out a howl that sent chills up Amber's spine. She knew what it was though; it was a call, or a signal, letting someone know that he had her. Horrified, Amber realized that this must be one of the people she had seen a few days earlier.

In a second, the dog changed back into the man, and he pulled Amber so that she was on her knees. He covered her mouth again, and pulled her backwards, so that she was sitting on him.

"You know, it's a pity it had to come to this. If you had just stayed near the cliff, we wouldn't have to take you. Though of course since you seem to know Lucius Malfoy, we actually might have had to." The man was saying in a cheerful voice. Amber was confused. Why would the man be happy about catching her? Wasn't he going to kill her, isn't that what usually happened to people who overheard conversations?

"We don't know who you are though, which is strange. I know for sure that Lucius doesn't have another kid, and besides, you don't look anything like him. You can't be a pureblood, I know most of them around here, and none of them have a daughter your age." The man continued. Amber couldn't help it; she rolled her eyes at him. She was surprised that she wasn't really all that scared. She was a little bit, but what could these people do to her that was worse than would happen if she stayed with Lucius?

"Remus should be here by now!" The man said, more to himself than to Amber. By now, it was starting to set in that she had actually been caught. She still wasn't that frightened, but Amber knew that she had to fight to get away. She started struggling, and immediately the man tightened his grip on her.

"Oh no you don't, there is no way you are getting away! I could chase you down in a second!" The man said, a hint of laughter to his voice. Amber ignored him and continued on struggling. This time, the man laughed out loud.

"You defiantly can't be related to Lucius. He's a coward and a snake, there's no way he'd be fighting me right now." The man said, his voice hinting that he was enjoying watching Amber try to get away. Trying her hardest to ignore him, Amber continued struggling, and she ended up kicking the man in the knee. It wasn't very affective, he didn't even flinch.

"Nice try, but you've got to be stronger than that!" He said, his voice taunting Amber. Amber narrowed her eyes and finally noticed, his hand was in a perfect position for her to…

"OW!" The man cried, jumping up and letting go of Amber. Amber fell to the ground, and immediately scrambled to her feet. The man was holding the hand that Amber just bit, and was glaring at her. Amber didn't wait to see what happened, she turned and bolted.

CRACK! Right in front of her, someone suddenly apparated, causing Amber to run right into them.

"What the…" The man said, grabbing Amber's arm. Amber felt like crying in frustration, she just couldn't win! The man had short sandy brown hair and brown eyes. He looked dead-tired, but he had more strength than Amber had expected.

"Is this the girl?" He asked, looking at the Animagus. The Animagus nodded, still holding his hand as he glared at Amber. The sandy-haired man smiled.

"What happened?" He asked, completely ignoring Amber as she struggled to get away from him.

"She bit me!" The Animagus said. The sandy-haired man laughed, but when the Animagus glared at him, he looked down at Amber, trying to hide his smile. When his eyes met Amber's though, his smile vanished.

"We better get out of here before someone comes looking for her." He said softly, not taking his eyes away from Amber's. The Animagus nodded, and in a second he transformed into the big black dog. Amber glared at him, furious that she hadn't figured out what the dog really was sooner.

"Come on, let's go." The sandy-haired man said. He wrapped his arms around Amber, and holding onto her, he disapparated. As Amber felt like she was being split in two, she finally realized that this could be it.

**Author's Note: I'm sorry about taking so long to update, I'm really bad about that… I hope you guys still like this story…**


	5. Chapter 5: Lochwood

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Five

'Lochwood'

In just a few seconds, the cliffs disappeared and Amber and the sandy-haired man were in front of an old, run-down cabin. It was Amber's first time apparating, and she was feeling quite dizzy and lightheaded. She wasn't sure if that was normal, but she had a feeling that now wouldn't be the best time to ask.

The man's arms fell to his side as he stepped back, away from Amber, his eyes not even on her. Instead, he was staring at the cabin, as though memorizing it. Amber grew hopeful that she could escape, until she noticed that his right hand was gripping his wand tightly. If she tried to get away, he could stun her in a second.

"Welcome to Lochwood." The man said, a faint smile on his lips. Amber didn't say anything, she just stared up at the cabin, if you could call it that.

The wood was rotting and falling apart while great patches of moss grew here and there. It was so unwanted looking, that Amber thought that it didn't even deserve to have a name.

_Just like you_. Amber thought gloomily. It was true, she and the cabin had something in common. No one really wanted them. Sure, someone took care of them, but only because they had to. Amber and the cabin were both just burdens to the people who were stuck with them. And by the looks of it, both of them had been neglected. The cabin looked like even the gentlest of breezes would knock it over, while Amber knew that she was a little bit malnourished. Lucius and Narcissa had never really been concerned about her health. Amber was sure that the only reason she wasn't sick was because Draco ordered some of the maids to feed Amber in secret, though they could only feed her so much before Narcissa or Lucius started to suspect something.

"Come on, let's go inside." The sandy-haired man said, beckoning to Amber. Grudgingly, Amber walked forward into Lochwood, followed by the man.

The inside didn't look any better than the outside did. In one corner there was a little makeshift kitchen, while another corner seemed to be a tiny study. There was an old stone fireplace with a deep violet chesterfield in front of it. There was a tiny hallway that split off into three different rooms. From where she was standing, Amber couldn't see into the rooms. She wondered if the two other people she'd seen were somewhere in the cabin, assuming of course, that the sandy-haired man had been one of the four.

"It's not much, but we're only staying here temporarily." The sandy-haired man was saying. Amber looked at him in alarm. He was talking as though they were going to be keeping Amber with them! She didn't know what would be worse, them killing her or her having to live with them.

"When Sirius gets here, then we'll have proper introductions." The sandy-haired man said. Amber didn't say anything, she just stared at him. She didn't know what to say, the man wasn't supposed to treat her as though she were his new friend! That's just not how it worked!

"You can sit down." The man said, nodding towards the chesterfield. Amber glanced towards the chesterfield and then back at the man. He sighed and shook his head, but he didn't say anything. Something told Amber that he was feeling just as uncomfortable as she was.

CRACK! Both Amber and the sandy-haired man jumped as the Animagus appeared. Sirius was that what the sandy-haired man had called him? Yes it was, and Sirius had called the sandy-haired man by his name as well. But try as she might, Amber could not remember what the name was.

"Sirius, finally!" The sandy-haired man said, sounding relieved. Sirius grinned, and for a second, it was as though they had forgotten that Amber was standing in the room with them. They started talking as though she wasn't there.

"I checked out the Malfoy's cabin. They haven't even noticed that she's gone." Sirius was saying. The sandy-haired man shook his head and looked at Amber. Sirius followed his gaze, while Amber just fidgeted nervously.

"She can't be their kid then, they'd notice right away. Besides, she doesn't look like any of them, have you ever seen a Malfoy with black hair?" The sandy-haired man said. Sirius shook his head, not taking his eyes off of Amber. Nervous and a little bit annoyed, Amber stared out a dusty, cracked window.

"No never, I can't think of who's kid she is." Sirius said. Amber was starting to feel very annoyed by now, she wasn't just some animal that couldn't talk for herself, they didn't have to talk about her right in front of her! The sandy-haired man didn't say anything for the longest time until he finally sighed.

"Well, I guess we should introduce ourselves." He said, sounding as though it were the last thing he wanted to do. Sirius nodded and stared at the sandy-haired man expectantly. Rolling his eyes, the man turned to Amber.

"I'm Remus Lupin, and this, well this is Sirius Black." He said, glancing at Sirius, who was grinning. They were apparently expecting Amber to say something. Well they were in for a disappointment. She knew who he was alright, Sirius Black, the murderer. Lucius talked about him all the time, mostly going on about how he was a no-good, useless rotten muggle-loving mutt. Now Amber finally understood why Lucius had added in the mutt. Before, she thought that he was just insane.

"What's your name?" Sirius asked a few minutes later, clearly disappointed that she didn't say anything. Amber hesitated, should she tell them? They were after all, the enemy.

_Well, not my enemy._ Amber thought. She'd didn't want to have anything to do with the Death Eaters and Voldemort, but living with Lucius, she hadn't had a choice. Finally, she decided she'd answer Sirius and Remus' questions, well most of them.

"Amber." She said slowly. Sirius glanced at Remus before he looked back at Amber.

"What's your last name?" He asked. Amber had to think hard. She defiantly wasn't a Malfoy, even though she'd lived with them, she hadn't taken on their last name. She couldn't remember her mother's last name, and she didn't know her father's.

"Don't have one." She said. Both Sirius and Remus looked confused, but they didn't say anything about it.

"Where are your parents?" Remus asked. Amber didn't see what that had to do with anything, they obviously weren't here, but she answered anyway.

"My mom's dead, and my father, well, I don't know…" She said. She was going to lie, but for some reason, she didn't.

"Your father is?" Sirius asked, encouraging her to go on. Amber shrugged, but Sirius still didn't seem to get it.

"I don't know where he is, I've never met him." She said angrily. As if they suddenly thought of something, both Sirius and Remus looked at each other and each started to say something. But then they stopped, leaving Amber feeling very confused.

"You're name is Amber, your mother is dead, and you don't know your father?" Remus asked. Amber nodded.

"What was your mother's name?" Sirius asked. Amber hesitated, but again, she decided to answer.

"Amber." Again, Sirius and Remus looked at each other, and then back at Amber.

"A-amber? Her name was Amber?" Sirius asked, his voice wavering slightly. Confused, Amber nodded.

"Yes, Amber, I'm named after her." She said. Sirius looked horrified, and Amber couldn't figure out why.

**Author's Note: Well another chapter, hope you like it.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Crest

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Six

'The Crest'

"H-how did your mother die?" Sirius asked, his voice wavering with fear. Starting to get angry, Amber decided that she wouldn't answer anymore questions. She'd already said too much, and the questions were starting to get more personal. And besides, why would it matter to them how her mother had died, they never knew her!

Sirius started to ask the question again, but one glare from Remus made him stop. Amber stared at the window, hoping that they'd get the hint that she would not answer anymore questions. They were out of luck.

"Why don't we go sit down?" Remus suggested. Glaring at Amber, his face pale, Sirius nodded, and dragged over a chair towards the chesterfield. Remus stared at Amber expectantly, and reluctantly, she walked over to the chesterfield and sat down. Remus sat down beside her, and for the longest time, no one spoke. Sirius looked as though he was about to start crying, while Remus was staring at his friend with concern. Amber felt awkward and out of place, wondering what she could have said to have made the two men like this.

"How long were you with the Malfoys for?" Remus finally asked. Amber didn't answer; she just stared at her feet. Remus sighed, and looked back at Sirius. Sirius shook his head, and Amber couldn't figure out why. She hated this; she hated being confused more than anything else. At least if she was scared, she knew what was happening.

"How did you end up with them?" Remus tried again. Amber still refused to answer though. They may not be her enemies, but they were starting to pry into her history, and that was one thing that she refused to let them do. No one needed to know any of it.

Remus seemed to give up, and the three of them sat in silence. Remus was staring at Sirius, while Sirius was staring at Amber, and Amber was staring at the wall. It was starting to get cold, and before long, Amber was shivering. Her sweater was big, but it wasn't very thick, so it kept out no cold air. Remus noticed, pointed his wand at the fireplace, and in a second there was a roaring fire. Amber watched in amazement, she'd never learned how to do any magic, Lucius and Narcissa had kept her hidden from everybody, she'd never gotten a letter from Hogwarts that she knew of.

"What's that?" Sirius asked suddenly, still staring at Amber. Amber looked away from the fireplace, and in horror realized that Sirius was looking directly at the chain around her neck. Usually, Amber kept her sweaters zipped up all the way to make sure there was no way anyone would find it, but since she had been going to the cliff, she'd left it unzipped. In all the commotion, she'd forgotten all about it.

Ignoring Sirius, Amber quickly went to zip up her sweater, but Sirius was faster and grabbed the chain, starting to pull it out. Immediately, Amber grabbed the chain to stop Sirius from seeing the crest.

"Don't!" She said, her voice filled with fear. Sirius and Remus glanced at each other before they both looked at Amber curiously.

"Why not?" Sirius asked slowly. Amber didn't answer, she just shook her head. She didn't know what to say to his question, she couldn't exactly say that she didn't want him to see it because he could use it against her father!

"It's ok, let us see it." Remus said softly, trying to loosen Amber's grip on the chain. Amber refused to let go though, she couldn't let go, and no one was supposed to see the crest!

But Remus was stronger than Amber was, and within minutes, he got Amber's grip loose enough that Sirius could pull the crest out. When he saw it, his face went white and there was a look of horror in his eyes. Remus looked horrified as well, while Amber wanted to burst into tears. She'd failed her mother, she'd let someone see the crest. If her father wasn't already dead, he probably would be soon.

"How did you get this?" Sirius asked, his voice flat. Amber was shaking, and she didn't answer.

"Tell me how you got this!" Sirius said, starting to sound angry. Amber started shaking even more, but still she didn't say anything. Remus glared at Sirius.

"Not like that!" He hissed. Sirius glanced at him quickly, but then he continued staring at the crest, shock and horror written across his face. Remus looked at Amber, shaking slightly himself.

"We won't hurt you or anything, but please, tell us how you got the crest." He said softly. At first, Amber wasn't going to answer, but what was the point now? They had seen it, answering some questions wouldn't be any worse. And besides, they'd figure it out soon enough.

"M-my mother." She stuttered, looking at the wall once more. Never before in her life had Amber felt so bad, not even when she'd hit Mister with the rock (though now she wished that she'd hit him harder). Her mother had only asked her to do one thing, and she'd failed at it.

"Your mother gave it to you?" Remus asked in disbelief. Slowly, Amber nodded, feeling a slight numbness come over her. She couldn't believe what had happened. She could take being captured by two complete strangers, but this? This was horrible!

"Where did she get it from?" Remus asked, glancing at Sirius worriedly. Sirius looked as though he were about to break down into tears. Amber couldn't figure out why though, it's not as though _he_ had failed her mother.

"My father." Amber replied. Both Sirius and Remus stared at her in horror, and then looked at each other. Amber was starting to get really curious now, but she didn't bother to ask what was going on. There was no point, no one ever told her anything.

"Y-your father gave that to your mother?" Remus asked, as if he couldn't believe it. Amber nodded, and slowly, started to tell them everything. There was no point in hiding it anymore, she'd failed.

When Amber got to the part where her mother killed herself, Sirius stood up abruptly and left the room. Amber and Remus watched him go, and then they looked at each other. Finally, Amber worked up the courage to speak.

"What is going on?" She asked, her voice trembling. Remus hesitated, and glanced at the room Sirius had disappeared into, and then looked back down at her.

"Nothing." He said finally. Amber couldn't help it, she rolled her eyes. She was right, they wouldn't tell her anything, no one ever did. She didn't know why she even bothered asking questions.

"What happened while you were with the Malfoys?" Remus asked curiously. Taking a deep breath, Amber told him all about it. How she was hidden in a closet whenever someone came over, how Narcissa and Lucius had never been nice to her, how Dobby the house elf and Draco had been her only friends. Remus looked angrier and angrier the more she told him.

"That's horrible! Doesn't surprise me though, Lucius was always like that!" He said angrily once she finished. Amber stared at him in surprise. She knew that Remus was Lucius' enemy, but she wasn't used to being around people who didn't like him.

After that, Remus didn't say anything, and neither did Remus. Sirius didn't come out of his room, and slowly, Amber felt herself slip off into a deep sleep.

**Author's Note: Yay, another chapter, I'm on a roll! Sorry it sounds so rushed, my brother doesn't quite understand that writing takes time…oh well, I liked this chapter…and yes, chesterfield, I put that word in just for you!!!**


	7. Chapter 7: Disguise

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Seven

'Disguise'

It was close to midnight by the time Sirius finally came out of this room. Remus was still sitting on the chesterfield, and Amber was sound asleep. Slowly, Sirius sat back down on the chair, and just stared at the girl.

"It's true, isn't it?" Remus finally asked. Slowly, Sirius nodded, his eyes not leaving Amber. He was studying her, memorizing her. Her black hair was shiny and fine, not like his, and her eyes, well, now at least he knew why they were so familiar.

"Yes, it has to be. That's the crest I gave to Amber, in our Seventh year." Sirius said his voice flat. That year had been the best of his life. Lily and James had finally started dating, and Sirius didn't have to listen to James go on and on about how unfair she was being, and that was the year that Amber Winslow finally went on a date with him.

Amber had been in his year, but was in Ravenclaw. She had known Lily, and while the two hadn't really been friends, they had hung out a few times. One of her closest friends had been Narcissa though.

Sirius had liked Amber ever since he had first met her in their third year. He and James had just pulled a prank on Lily, and Amber had torn a strip off of him. With a faint smile, Sirius remembered that day.

_"Why must you jerks insist on being so goddamn mean? Lily hasn't done anything to you and still you guys are such pricks!" Amber had yelled as she helped a very wet Lily to her feet. Sirius and James had just laugh, and angrily, Amber had slapped Sirius._

_"Shut-up and listen up!" She yelled. Both Sirius and James had stopped yelling and stared at her in surprise. Lily was the only one who had ever told them to shut-up._

_"I should go to Dumbledore himself about this; you jerks are just being cruel! Sure, pick on Snape all you want, he's just as big of jerk as you two are, but Lily the only sane and nice person left in all of Gryffindor! Gryffindor used to have a good name until you two creeps showed up!"_

"Maybe it's just a coincidence, I mean, Black is a fairly common last name." Remus said. Sirius shook his head, and carefully, picked up the crest and showed the back to Remus. In the dark, Remus could just barely make out an inscription.

_To Amber, so that you'll always remember me, _

"Oh." Was all that Remus said. He looked at Amber, who was still sleeping peacefully. It was such a difference from when she was awake. She wasn't loud or rude, but there was always an angry look on her face when she was awake.

"How could Amber never tell me though?" Sirius asked. At first, Remus was silent; he didn't know what to say. Finally though, he thought of something.

"Judging by the fact that Amber didn't have a baby while you were still with her, I'm guessing that she was born while you were in Azkaban, there was no way that she could tell you!" He said. The answer seemed to satisfy Sirius, and for a while, neither one of them said anything.

"She has your hair colour, that's about it." Remus said finally. Sirius nodded. Amber had had long, fine brown hair and icy blue eyes, just like her daughters.

"Lucky her." Remus said with a smile. Sirius laughed softly and nodded. It was true, his hair was the worst, and he had never really been that fond of his eye colour.

"So, are you going to tell her?" Remus asked. Sirius didn't answer. He hadn't thought about that. How was he supposed to tell her? He didn't think that just coming out with a, "Hi, I've just kidnapped you and you're going to have to stay with me for probably the rest of your life, oh, and I'm also your long lost father" wouldn't sit that well with the kid.

"I don't know, should I?" Sirius asked. If anyone would know, Remus would. He always knew what to do in strange, awkward situations like this.

"I don't know, I mean, it would probably make her pretty angry to find out, and besides, what if she ever gets back to the Malfoys and they find out? They could use her against you!" Remus said. Sirius nodded, he hadn't thought about that. Narcissa might have been Amber's friend at Hogwarts, but being married to Lucius had no doubt made her change. And Lucius had never liked Amber or Sirius, he'd be overjoyed to use their child against Sirius.

"So we'll just keep it a secret and act like we know absolutely nothing about her mother?" Remus asked. Sirius nodded and sighed. Yesterday, he'd been just an escaped convict, today; he was suddenly the father of a thirteen-year-old girl. It was making his head hurt.

"Are we going to tell anyone?" Remus asked. Sirius didn't answer. He hadn't thought about that either. Obviously Tonks and Moody already knew about the girl, but they didn't know that she was Sirius' daughter. And in only a few days, they would all be going to, ugh, number twelve, Grimmauld Place, where there would be a constant train of witches and wizards going through. And to think of what Molly Weasley would say when she found out! Sirius cringed at the thought.

"I don't know, I mean, if we tell everyone, someone is bound to let it slip, and Snape might tell one of his Death Eater friends about her." Sirius said, the dislike clear in his voice. Remus smiled.

"Sirius, Snape is on our side now! But you do have a point. Okay, we won't tell anyone that's she's, well, you know, but what are we going to tell them? We won't be able to hide her in a room forever!" He said. Sirius thought for a moment. Remus was right, they couldn't hide her forever. But then he thought of something, and a grin spread across his face.

"No, we can't hide her forever, but we can disguise her!" He said. Remus stared at him, clearly confused.

"Disguise her? What are you-oh no, no, we cannot do that!" He said, catching onto what Sirius was thinking. Sirius stood up and started walking back and forth in front of the fireplace.

"Yes we can, and no one will suspect anything either! Oh this is a perfect plan!" He said. Remus shook his head, and glanced at Amber quickly, to make sure she hadn't woken up. She was still sound asleep.

"We cannot do that, what are you thinking? That's a great way to get her to hate us!" Remus cried. Sirius grinned at him.

"For a while, but trust me, it's a whole lot of fun after you get used to it! And this way, you won't be any threat to her when you go all furry on us!" He said. Remus sighed, but he didn't say anything.

"Oh come on Remus, unless you have any better ideas?" Sirius said. Remus was silent, but finally he sighed loudly.

"Oh fine, we'll do it, but you are the one who has to explain all of this to her!" He said. Sirius grinned brightly.

"Deal!" He said.

**Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, six reviews for one chapter, yay! And I will defiantly check out that story, thanks. And I agree, Amber is so ignorant, but she may…not saying anything for sure…may, figure out something…just maybe… And also, I hate this chapter's name…but I couldn't think of anything else… just thought you should know…**


	8. Chapter 8: Snowball

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Eight

'Snowball'

When Amber awoke the next morning, Sirius was sitting in the chair and Remus was gone. Someone had put a faded green blanket over her, and it smelled vaguely of dog. Though Sirius could see that she was awake, he didn't say anything.

Suddenly, Amber was filled with fear. It hadn't really occurred to her that she would never be going back to the Malfoys. She didn't miss them, oh no, it was impossible to miss Lucius and Narcissa, but she'd lived with them pretty much her entire life. She'd grown used to being hidden, being treated badly, and after a while, it hadn't seemed so bad. Now she was going to have to get used to a totally different life. Just the thought of it scared Amber.

"You're going to have to stay with us you know." Sirius said finally. Amber nodded, but didn't say anything. Out of the two of them, Sirius scared her more than Remus did.

"We can't let anyone else know about you." Sirius said. Amber just stared at him, trying to understand what he was saying. What were they going to do then, lock her in a closet for the rest of her life?

"So we're going to have to disguise you." Sirius continued. Amber still didn't say anything. Disguise her, how? There wasn't really much they could disguise her as so that people wouldn't ask questions.

"Remus started it already." Sirius said. Amber continued staring at him; she didn't know what to say. Remus had started it already, started what? She didn't feel any different, or look any different.

"W-what do you mean?" Amber stuttered, drawing up all of her courage. Sirius didn't answer, and Amber didn't dare to ask again. Lucius had hated it when she asked questions twice, and there was nothing saying that Sirius would be different.

For a while, there was a long awkward silence, Amber starting at Sirius, and Sirius staring at Amber. Amber was dying to ask Sirius questions, but she was too afraid to.

Finally, Remus appeared with a loud CRACK right beside Sirius. He took one look at Sirius and Amber, and then shook his head.

"Did you explain it to her?" He asked, acting as though Amber wasn't there. Amber glared at him, and she saw Sirius smile.

"No, not yet, I was waiting for you to get back." He said. Remus rolled his eyes and tried very unsuccessfully to look angry. Sirius just grinned at him, and Amber rolled her eyes. Slowly, even though Sirius scared her, she was starting to feel a little bit more relaxed around them.

"Well I'm back, start explaining." Remus said, sounding slightly exasperated. Sirius nodded, but then he didn't say anything. For several minutes there was a long silence until Remus sighed loudly.

"Fine I'll do it!" He said angrily. Turning to Amber, Remus started to speak, and then he stopped. Both Amber and Sirius watched him curiously, and it was several minutes before he finally spoke.

"We need to disguise you, so that no one will know who you are. This way, you'll never have to go back to the Malfoys, and you'll be safe. Safe from the Death Eaters, the Malfoys, and me." He said. Amber stared at him curiously. Why would he be any threat to her? She could understand the Death Eaters and the Malfoys, but him?

When Amber didn't say anything, Remus glanced at Sirius, who nodded. Remus sighed, and looked back at Amber, looking as though he was dreading what he was about to say next.

"I'm a werewolf, I can take a potion so that I can keep my mind while I'm a werewolf, but it's best to have some sort of protection against me just in case something goes wrong. So, we've decided that you should become an Animagus." He said uncertainly.

"But, isn't that, illegal?" Amber asked slowly. Sirius smiled and glanced at Remus, who didn't look happy.

"Well, yes, but it's for the best." Remus said. He still didn't sound certain though, and that scared Amber more than the possibility that something could go wrong.

"And how exactly do you become an Animagus?" Amber asked, her voice wavering with fear. Remus looked at Sirius.

"It's a very complicated process; it involves several potions, and several different spells. We can do it though; we've done it three times already." Sirius said. Though she wanted to, Amber didn't ask who they'd done it to. She was guessing that Sirius had been on of them, but she didn't have a clue as to who the other two could be.

"So, shall we get started?" Remus said, after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. Amber didn't say anything, but Sirius nodded. That seemed to satisfy Remus, and he went over to the little makeshift kitchen. A couple minutes later, he returned, holding a small glass. He handed it to Amber, who took it, but then just stared at it.

"Go on, drink it, it even tastes good." Remus said with a smile. Slowly, Amber brought the glass to her mouth, and closing her eyes, she drank it. It tasted somewhat like lemons and crackers. It wasn't that bad, but it wasn't exactly all that good.

"That's good." Remus said, taking the glass from Amber. Over the next two hours, Amber took three more potions, and Remus performed five non-verbal spells. Why he had to do it non-verbally was a mystery to Amber, but she felt too dizzy and lightheaded to ask.

"Here we go." Sirius whispered to Remus after the third potion. Remus nodded, and quickly, Sirius transformed into the big black dog. Amber, who was still sitting on the couch, began to shake, her eyes rolling. Remus wanted to help her, but he knew it was best to let the transformation take course.

It didn't take very long for the transformation to be complete. Remus remembered the first time he'd assisted in turning someone into an Animagus. It had been James Potter, and they'd all been excited, sure that the transformation was going to be the coolest thing that they'd ever seen. They were all disappointed. The first few minutes consist of the person shaking, and then, in a second, they're transformed into what animal they are most like in personality.

It was the same with Amber. After four and a half minutes of uncontrollable shaking, she suddenly changed into an animal. Neither Remus nor Sirius were surprised by what animal she changed into, they'd suspected that she was more like Sirius than her mother Amber all along.

While Sirius was a huge black dog, Amber had transformed into a puppy-sized white dog. Remus knew that he and Sirius would probably end up arguing about whether or not Amber was really a dog or a wolf, she looked almost exactly like a wolf pup, but then at the same time, she didn't have the same characteristics as a wolf.

Amber didn't realize at first that she had transformed, and went to get up. When she saw that she had paws instead of feet, she jumped backwards quickly, terrified. Slowly, she tried to walk, and found it a lot harder than when she was human. Trying to coordinate where fours legs should go wasn't easy, especially since she was only used to telling two where to go.

"Just relax!" Sirius said sharply. Amber stared at him, terrified. Glancing up at Remus, she realized that he couldn't hear Sirius, only she could.

"It takes a while to get used to it, but once you do, being a dog is a lot of fun." Sirius was saying. Amber was barely listening though; she was too busy trying to figure out how to walk.

"Figure out how to do that later, right now you need to learn how to change back into your human form!" Sirius said, sounding angry. Amber immediately stopped what she was doing and stared at him.

"Concentrate really hard, and picture your human form in your mind. Think about becoming your human form." Sirius said. Amber tried, but it didn't work. She tried again, a picture of herself in her mind. She wanted to become human again, she really did. Being a dog was not that easy, and it felt like she had two thick, heavy blankets over here.

"There you go!" Remus said happily. Amber hadn't realized it, but she had indeed turned back into a human. She'd never imagine that being an Animagus could be like this, barely noticing when you change.

"Can I never do that again?" She asked weakly. Remus smiled, but didn't say anything to her. Instead, he turned to Sirius, who had changed back into his human form.

"We need a name now." Remus said. Sirius nodded, and thought for a moment. They didn't really need a good name for her; after all, he was named Snuffles. A typical name for a white dog was all that was needed.

"Let's call her Snowball." He said finally. Remus nodded, it was a good enough name. Amber wasn't really listening to them. She was trying to get over the fact that she had actually just turned into a dog. Remus and Sirius kept on talking, but Amber ignored them. She was absolutely terrified now, she'd agreed to become an Animagus, with no argument, that wasn't like her at all! And what had Sirius meant by saying that Remus had started the process already?

**Author's Note: Oh man this chapter was hard to write…I almost didn't want to do it, and to give up on the story… it was that bad… I don't like it… I hope you guys do though…Especially since it nearly killed me to write it.**


	9. Chapter 9: Grimmauld Place

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Nine

'Grimmauld Place'

For the next few days, Amber concentrated on learning how to walk as a dog. It was hard and frustrating, but Sirius was right, the more she got used to it, the more fun being a dog became. And Amber, Remus and Sirius were slowly all getting used to the idea of living together. Amber even thought that it wasn't that bad. Both Remus and Sirius were nice to her, and they didn't starve her, like Lucius and Narcissa had.

There were still the odd, awkward times. Amber yearned to go outside, but neither Remus nor Sirius would allow her. And one of them always kept guard at night, to make sure that she wouldn't try and take off. Not that she would've, but they didn't quite trust her yet.

A few days after they captured Amber, Remus told her that they were going to be moving to a different house. Amber didn't object, she didn't really like Lochwood. At first, she'd found the abandoned look to it comforting, but now it just bothered her.

Slowly, Remus and Sirius began taking all their things to the new house, one of them staying with Amber, while the other one apparated. It didn't take long to move all of their things, they didn't have much to begin with.

Finally though, a week after Amber was captured, Remus announced that today was the day they were moving. Amber just nodded, feeling a little bit scared. Remus had said once that there was going to be a lot of other witches and wizards in the new house.

"It might be easier if you're a dog though." Remus said, interrupting Amber's thoughts. Amber nodded and concentrated hard. It was a lot easier to change now, but she still wasn't used to it, being a human one second, and being a dog the next.

"That's better." Remus said, and then to Amber's surprise, he picked her up. She just stared at him with wide eyes. Not that it would have been any use to say anything, only Sirius could understand her when he was in his dog form.

"Sirius, let's go!" Remus called. There was a few seconds of silence, and finally Sirius came out of his room, looked slightly bewildered. Remus didn't ask why though, and Sirius didn't say anything.

"Come on, let's go." Remus said again. Sirius just nodded, and the two of them apparated. Amber hated the feeling of apparating, as though she were being split in two. And it still left her feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Being a dog, it was even worse, it was a good thing Remus was holding her, she wouldn't be able to walk at all if she were on the ground.

When her head finally cleared, Amber realized that they were standing in front of two houses, number eleven and number thirteen Grimmauld Place. No number twelve, Amber had to check again to make sure she was seeing right.

"Memorize this quickly!" Remus whispered to Amber, holding a small piece of paper in front of her. Since it was night, Amber found it hard to read, but being a dog, she had a little better vision than normal. Still though, Amber found the narrow handwriting hard to red. It said:

_The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

Amber looked up at Remus curiously as he set the note on fire with his wand. Sirius transformed into the big black dog, and Amber turned her head so that she was looking at him. She was confused; it was quite obvious that number 12, Grimmauld Place didn't exist.

"I don't get it." Amber said to Sirius, assuming he knew what was on the now burnt up piece of parchment.

"Just think hard about what you just read, very hard." He said. Amber did what he said, though she thought it was pointless. Thinking about the address wouldn't make a house appear out of thin air!

"Just keep thinking about the address." Sirius said. Amber nodded, and went over what she had read. She had just reached the number twelve when a battered door appeared out of nowhere between houses eleven and thirteen. The door was followed by dirty walls and grimy windows. The house seemed to squeeze in between houses eleven and thirteen. Amber just stared at it in surprise.

"Come on, let's go!" Remus said, holding open the door. Amber and Sirius both ran in, though Amber found it even harder to run than to walk as a dog. She was amazed that she didn't trip over her own paws.

There was several old-fashioned gas lamps lit along a long, gloomy hallway. The wallpaper was peeling and several age-blackened portraits hung crooked on the walls. Amber just stood in the hallway, taking everything in. Lochwood had been falling apart, but this place was just disgusting! Narcissa would die if she ever saw this house.

Sirius turned back into his human form, and with a nod from Remus, Amber did the same. She looked around warily, sure that something was going to come running out at them.

"Welcome to my house." Sirius said flatly. Amber just stared at him; she didn't know what to say. She couldn't be rude and say that she didn't like it, but everyone would know if she lied and said she did like it.

"It's been empty for quite a while." Remus said a-matter-of-factly. Amber just nodded, still staring around her in surprise. Even Lochwood hadn't looked this bad, and that place had been ancient.

"Once Molly Weasly gets here, I'm sure it'll look better." Sirius said sarcastically. Amber turned quickly to look at him. Molly Weasley, as in, the Weasleys, the biggest blood traitors out there? Lucius had gone on many rants about that muggle-loving Arthur Weasley, and Draco told her about his horrible red-headed children. Sirius saw her look and smiled.

"No doubt you've heard Lucius go on about them? Well, I guess we better set you straight about them before you meet them, though you will be pretending to be a dog when you do meet them." Sirius said.

"Arthur Weasley does love muggles, but he's a loyal friend. Molly is strict, but she's an amazing cook. And they have seven children, Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny." He continued. Amber nodded; she'd heard Draco talk about the twins, Ron, and Ginny.

"But enough about that, we'll go show you a room. I'm afraid you're going to have to share it with someone." Sirius said, grinning at Remus. Amber just watched the two of them, feeling a bit nervous. But nevertheless, she followed Sirius as he led them up a stairway. Amber jumped when she realized that there were mounted house-elf heads on the walls, but still didn't say anything. Sirius had said this was his house, and she didn't want to offend him.

"Here we are." Sirius said, opening the door to one room. Amber jumped backwards when she saw what was inside. The creature was tall, and looked like a cross between a griffin and a horse.

"What is that?" Amber asked, unsure whether or not to be terrified or enchanted by the strange creature. It was lying with its head resting on its front legs, one eye focused on them.

"That is Buckbeak, he's a Hippogriff. He's quite friendly once you get to know him." Sirius said. Amber didn't reply, and just stared at Buckbeak, entranced. Never before had she seen anything like him!

"Walk slowly towards him and bow. Hopefully he'll bow back, but if not, well, just get out of there quickly." Sirius said. Amber didn't move until he pushed her forward gently. Feeling the fear rising in her, Amber gulped and took a few steps towards Buckbeak. He lifted his head and watched her carefully.

Slowly, Amber bowed, watching him. For a few seconds, the Hippogriff just stared at her, until finally, it bowed his head. Relieved, Amber straightened up and stepped backwards towards Sirius and Remus.

"That's good, that's one thing that's over, now, if we can only convince everyone that you're a dog!" Remus said cheerfully. Amber nodded, but she was nervous. She'd never had a dog before, so how would she be able to act like one? Surely she was going to mess up and everyone would know who she really was! Amber shook her head quickly, trying to rid the thoughts from her mind.

_You'll do fine, now just calm down!_ She thought to herself. She hoped she was right, because she heard the front door open, and several new voices.

**Author's Note: Wow, I'm actually getting somewhere with this story, I'm glad, and chapter nine, that's the farthest I've ever gotten in any of my stories… But I like writing this one… okay, I'm starting to ramble…great…**


	10. Chapter 10: A Dog's Life

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Ten

'A Dog's Life'

In a second Amber transformed into a dog, and she, Remus and Sirius all hurried down the stairs. Amber was nervous, but she tried to relax, dogs weren't nervous around new people, the few dogs Amber had been around loved all people!

"Tonks, Kingsley!" Sirius said cheerfully once they reached the front hall. A young woman with a heart-shaped face and hair an unnatural shade of violet grinned broadly at him, while her companion, a tall black wizard, was looking around the house hall.

Amber hung back as the four adults started to talk. Sirius, Remus and the woman were defiantly three of the four people she had seen in the forest, but Kingsley didn't sound like the third man she'd heard.

"Hey, who's that?" The woman asked suddenly, looking at Amber curiously. At first, Amber started to back away, but Remus shook his head slightly, motioning her to come forward. Reluctantly, Amber obeyed, trying to look happy.

"That would be Snowball, Sirius' new dog." Remus finally replied. Tonks kneeled down and Amber, trying to act like a dog, wagged her tail furiously and bounded over to her. Tonks laughed and petted Amber while Remus and Sirius both smiled.

"Cute dog." Kingsley said, patting Amber's head. Amber barked excitedly, something Sirius had taught her to do.

"But this isn't exactly the best place for a dog." Kingsley added. Remus and Sirius glanced at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Yeah, but we found her out in the streets, we couldn't just leave her there, we had to bring her with us." Sirius said quickly.

"And she's very good in the house." Remus added. Amber just stared up at them, her tail still wagging. She didn't really know what to do, but apparently it wasn't that hard to fool people. All she had to do was wag her tail a lot and act happy.

Over the next two weeks, Amber met a bunch of witches and wizards, most of whom she couldn't remember their names. There were a few regulars though, and Amber had managed to learn their names. Tonks was over nearly everyday, and Amber liked her a lot. The young Metamorphmagus always gave Amber attention, something which Amber loved. All the years of living with the Malfoys had deprived Amber of some much needed attention.

Kingsley came over at least once a week, and there was also a man named Mundungus, whom Amber did not like at all. The first time he had come over, he'd tried to convince Sirius to sell Amber.

"Could say that e's a wolf eer some'n, e's young too, people want em young." He'd said, from behind a cloud of greenish smoke. Sirius had politely but firmly refused, much to Amber's relief. She knew he wouldn't have sold her anyway, but still, there was some fear in her.

There were meetings too, always held in the dining room, with the door closed. Sirius or Remus always made Amber go to her room during the meetings. Amber was curious to know what they were talking about, but she also loved having the chance to be human for a while. And besides, it was fun spending some time with Buckbeak.

Beaky was fine with Amber when she was human, but he wasn't really a fan of hers when she was a dog. The first time she'd transformed in front of him, he'd gone at her. Only thanks to Sirius had she been able to get away. Now, slowly, Beaky was getting used to it, but he still didn't like it much.

"Hey boy, how are you?" Amber asked, collapsing on her bed. Buckbeak yawned loudly and watched her with one eye. He was usually sleeping whenever Amber was in the room, or eating. Amber felt bad for him, she knew that he must want to get outside and stretch his wings. She wanted to go outside too; she wasn't used to being inside this long.

In just a few days, the Weasley family was supposed to be arriving at the Headquarters, according to Sirius. That was going to be the real test for Amber, pretending to be a dog with a whole bunch of teenagers around. It was easy with the adults, she didn't want to talk to them or hang out with them, but with teenagers, it was going to be different.

Amber tried to remember everything that Remus and Sirius had said about the Weasley kids. Bill was the oldest, and he had a job at Gringotts. Charlie was the second oldest, and he was in Romania studying dragons. Percy was the third oldest, and according to Sirius, a git as well, he apparently wasn't talking to the rest of the family. Then there were the twins, Fred and George. Sirius told her that they were pranksters, and to be a little bit wary of them. After them was Ron, he was obsessed with Quidditch but a nice guy overall. Ginny was the youngest and the only girl, and a little stubborn girl at that. It was Ginny that Amber was the most nervous to meet, she'd never been around a girl her own age, and Ginny was only a year older than her.

Amber wasn't sure how long it was until Remus finally came up into her room, telling her that the meeting was over. Amber just nodded but stayed lying on the bed. Remus came over and sat down on the bed beside her. For a while, neither one spoke until Amber finally broke the silence.

"Are you guys ever going to tell me?" She asked. Remus looked at her curiously. Then he sighed and looked over to Buckbeak, who was glaring at them. The Hippogriff shook his head and made a noise that sound almost like a growl.

"Tell you what?" He asked finally. At first, Amber didn't believe what he said. She'd been expecting him to either say nothing or just say no. Not ask her what!

"What the Order of the Phoenix is, and why do you guys have to keep me? I didn't hear anything that could be any use to anybody!" She said. Remus smiled at her overuse of the word any, but the smile soon vanished as he concentrated on her questions.

While he was thinking, Amber looked around the room. The walls were completely bare except for one picture of an ancient looking wizard. The wizard always seemed to be asleep though, and Amber had never heard it make a sound.

"I can't answer either one." Remus said finally. Amber fought the urge to roll her eyes, and instead stared at the floorboards. She could feel the anger bubbling up inside of her, threatening to overflow. Living with Remus and Sirius was better than living with the Malfoys, even if she did have to pretend to be a dog, but she was never told anything important!

Both of them were quiet for so long that Beaky fell asleep, his head resting on his forelegs. Amber watched him closely, feeling angry that he had to be kept locked up all day when obviously he was made to be outside. It was even worse for him than it was for her.

"The Weasleys are coming tomorrow." Remus said finally. Amber nodded, not taking her eyes off of Beaky.

"Yeah I know, Sirius told me." She said. Remus was silent for a long time. Finally though, he sighed.

"We will tell you, just, not yet." He said. Amber just nodded. That was better than nothing. She wanted to know, but she knew pushing the issue wasn't going to get her anywhere. She'd just have to wait.

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the nice compliments everybody, I'm glad you like this story… And I don't mean to leave cliffhangers, it just sort of happens…but that's why I try to update quickly, I hate stories with cliffhangers, and then the author doesn't update for six months or so… Yeah, there is a reason to why Sirius is making her pretend to be a dog in front of his friends, and it will come up later, but I know, I'd be so mad if I was her…oh man, I'm rambling again!**


	11. Chapter 11: The Weasleys

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Eleven

'The Weaselys'

"They're here, the Weasley's are here, quick, change into a dog!" Sirius cried, coming into Amber's room early the next morning. With a yawn, Amber sat up in bed, glancing out the tiny window located above the bed. It was still dark outside, who in their right mind would come to the Headquarters in the middle of the night? Certainly no one sane, making Amber a little bit afraid to meet the family.

"Hurry up and change!" Sirius said, sounding desperate. Amber nodded, and quickly transformed, yawning again. Sluggishly, she jumped off of the bed and walked crookedly towards the door, her eyesight blurry. Buckbeak glared at them from his place on the floor and sighed loudly in disgust. Amber looked at him wistfully, wishing that she were the one who could go back to sleep, and not have to worry about pretending to be something she wasn't.

"Come on!" Sirius said irritably. Amber glared at him, but picked up her pace slightly. She didn't want to go too fast, it was still a little awkward to walk on four legs, though Sirius seemed to have forgotten that.

When she finally got down the stairs, Amber stayed right behind Sirius, worry twisting within her. She tried to calm herself down, but it wasn't working and she felt the nervousness grow.

Finally, she and Sirius made it to the front hallway, where there was a large group of people standing, including Remus and Tonks. They were the only people who didn't have a headful of brilliant red hair. Amber stared at the family in amazement; she hadn't seen much people with red hair before, and certainly not such a large group!

"Hey Sirius!" Two identical voices chimed. Amber had to take a second look to make sure she wasn't seeing double. Sure enough though, there were indeed two identical-looking boys, Fred and George, Amber presumed. She took a quick count of all the kids, and came up with only four, and two adults, the parents more than likely.

"Hi, how was the trip out here?" Sirius asked, shaking hands with one of the twins, Fred maybe?

"It was fine, though I don't know why we had to get up so early!" The twin replied, shooting a glare at him mother. Amber wanted to laugh, but she stayed off to the side, not making a sound, hoping no one would notice her. Sirius laughed, and as he started to talk again, Amber's attention shifted over to the youngest son and the daughter.

"This place looks like it's been empty for years!" The boy was saying. His sister nodded and whispered something that Amber couldn't hear. The boy laughed though, causing everyone to look at him. He blushed and quickly looked away, his sister giggling.

Losing interest in them, Amber turned her eyes to the parents. Tonks was talking to the mother, making exaggerated gestures with her arms, while Remus was talking to the father in a low, serious voice. So far, none of them had noticed Amber, which suited her just fine.

"Do you have any rooms we can get some sleep in?" One of the twins, (George?) asked Sirius with a yawn. Sirius nodded and started to speak, but Tonks interrupted him.

"I'll show them their rooms Sirius, you needn't worry!" She said cheerfully. Mrs. Weasley looked relieved that Tonks had stopped talking to her. Remus and Sirius on the other hand, looked worried.

"Oh no, that's alright Tonks, I was going upstairs anyway." Sirius said quickly. Tonks shook her head and started walking towards the stairs. She wasn't paying attention to where she was walking though, and Amber knew immediately that Tonks was going to walk right into her. Knowing there wasn't enough time to get out of the way, Amber ducked low to the ground, closing her eyes. Sure enough, Tonks walked right into her, falling down as she did. Amber fought the urge to yelp loudly, even though Tonks pretty much landed right on top of her.

"Tonks, are you all right?" Mrs. Weasley cried, rushing over to help up the young witch. Tonks nodded, and slowly got up, making Amber worry that she'd gotten hurt as she fell. But her worry faded as Tonks grinned sheepishly at everyone around.

"I'm sorry!" She said. Amber saw the youngest son, Ron maybe, laughing silent. His sister elbowed him hard in the ribs, and he glared at her.

"Hey, when did you guys get a dog?" One of the twins said, finally noticing Amber. Amber glanced up at Sirius, who motioned slightly with his head for her to come forward. With a quick glare at him, Amber bounded forward, her tail wagging. She was getting tired of always acting happy when inside, she was far from happy. She didn't hate living with Remus and Sirius, but she couldn't say that she liked it. It felt as though something inside of her was missing.

"Just a few weeks ago, we found her out in the streets." Remus answered as Fred and George patted Amber. "Her name is Snowball."

"Snowball, you guys named a dog Snowball?" They asked in disgust. Surprised, Remus glanced at Sirius before nodding slowly. Mrs. Weasley was glaring at the twins, Amber was sure she was going to kill them, right there and then.

"Uh, yes." Remus said slowly, sounding a bit nervous. In fact, both he and Sirius looked nervous. Amber couldn't figure out why though, the twins just thought the name was stupid, as did she. She'd just never dared to speak up about it.

"Snowball is a cat's name!" The girl spoke up. Amber wagged her tail a little harder, maybe these kids could talk some sense into Remus and Sirius. She'd always hated the name Snowball, even before she'd ever met Mister back at the cliff. She'd read it in a story once, and vowed that she'd never name an animal it. It was ironic that she herself was now named Snowball.

"So it is." Sirius said, unsure of what he was supposed to say. He found it funny though, that no one thought that Snuffles was a bad name for a dog, but naming a dog Snowball was apparently a sin against nature.

"Why don't you just shorten the name to Snowy, that way everyone will be happy." Mr. Weasley suggested. His kids immediately agreed, and it wasn't long before Sirius and Remus agreed. Amber thought it was a much better name.

"So, does anyone want to go see their rooms?" Sirius asked after a few minutes. The four Weasley kids were still paying attention to Amber, who, even though it was weird being petted, loved all the attention. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were standing beside each other, smiling fondly down at their children, while Tonks was standing nearby, watching them all with a smile.

Reluctantly, the four Weasley kids left Amber and trudged upstairs to their rooms. Amber stayed down with the adults, until they all moved into the dining room. Amber knew what that meant, meeting time!

"Uh, Snowy, go follow the others." Remus said, clearly uncomfortable about calling Amber by her dog name. With a glare, Amber did what she was told. Remus just smiled.

It wasn't hard to find the Weasley kids, Amber had spent much time exploring the house. They were all together in one room, Ginny in a chair, Ron sitting on the floor, and the twins on the bed.

"I still don't get why we have to be here!" Ron was saying as Amber came into the room. Since Ginny was the closest to the door, Amber went over to her. Ginny smiled and patted Amber's head.

"I don't know, Mum probably thinks we'll be murdered if we stay at home, with all the business of that Order thing she and Dad keep going on about." Fred said a little too cheerfully. At least, Amber thought it was Fred.

"Well that's encouraging." His twin said. Amber watched the two of them closely, trying to find at least one difference between them. Of course though, there was none that she could find.

"Weird that they got a dog, I mean, having pets can't be that easy when you're either in hiding or trying to battle You-Know-Who." Ginny said. Her brothers nodded in agreement, and Amber's ears pricked up. She knew that Sirius was in hiding, but was Remus really trying to fight Voldemort?

"I know, though she is a pretty dog." Fred said. Amber knew that underneath her fur she was blushing. There hadn't been too many times that she had seen a mirror, for some reason, Lucius and Narcissa had only had one mirror, in their room, which Amber had rarely gone in. And the few times she had seen her reflection, she'd never thought of herself as pretty.

"Yeah, but her eyes are weird, I've never seen a dog with eyes that shade of blue." George said. Amber shivered slightly; her eyes hadn't changed like the rest of her had? Why hadn't Remus or Sirius said anything? Wasn't that important?

There was a long silence as everyone became engrossed in their own thoughts. Amber could hear a faint murmur which could only be the voices of the adults downstairs. Unfortunately, no matter how much she tried, she couldn't pick up a single word of their conversation.

"I wonder how Harry is." Ron said finally, his voice sounding thoughtful. His siblings nodded in agreement. Amber looked at them curiously, Harry, as in, Harry Potter?

"Probably having a grand time with that cousin of his." Fred said sarcastically. Amber wished she could ask them what they meant, but no, she had to keep pretending to be a dog. She wouldn't be surprised if she ended up forgetting how to talk!

"Wish we could hear what they were saying." Ron said a few minutes later. For a while, Amber listened to their conversation, but she found it a bit dull. They didn't say anything that was useful to her, it seemed like no one did these days. The two people who did refused to say anything. Just thinking about it made Amber angry. It was about her, so she had a right to know. Now, if only she could work up the courage to say that!

**Author's Note: First, let me apologize, AGAIN, to my lab partner, for breaking that stupid cylinder thing and cutting her, and thus ruining our entire experiment. At least it was entertaining! And I at least cut myself as well, not just you, so I'm not out to get you…yet… Just kidding! **

**I'm trying to make my chapters longer, bit by bit, and yes, the story will eventually move on more than it has…There's just so many things that need to happen before I can make it more interesting…And I don't know if I'll be able to update for a few days, I'm going up to my dad's, and he has no computer…even if he did, I wouldn't be able to update… way too busy…But look on the bright side, it'll give me a lot of time to write new chapters, so when I come back, I can put them all up!**


	12. Chapter 12: She's So Fetch

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Twelve

'She's So Fetch'

For Amber, the days all seemed to merge together. There weren't many windows in the Headquarters, and the few there was were so dirty and grimy, that it was impossible to see out of them. No one in the Headquarters really had a normal sleeping routine either; everyone just seemed to sleep whenever they wanted to. Mrs. Weasley would send her children to bed, but they would stay awake for hours. A constant stream of witches and wizards still came through the Headquarters, and there was double the amount of meetings held. Amber was glad that the Weasley kids seemed to be as frustrated as she was.

At least she wasn't lonely anymore. Amber had never really been around people her own age before, and she relished every second of it, even though the Weasleys were convinced that she was a dog.

Amber had me the eldest son, Bill, a few times, and she didn't mind him. He'd been nice to her, something Amber had noticed didn't seem to be common in most full-grown witches and wizards.

Amber had never met the second and third oldest sons, but she'd heard a few things about them. Charlie was studying dragons somewhere, Romania maybe, while Percy was working for the Ministry of Magic. What confused Amber most was how Mrs. Weasley broke out into loud sobs anytime Percy's name was mentioned.

Fred and George were Amber's favorites, they were always so happy and carefree, pulling pranks on everybody. Amber figured that the reason she liked them so much was because she wanted to be like them. To be able to laugh and really be happy, to not worry all the time and to simply just prank someone, something she had never done.

Amber didn't mind Ron, but she found him to be a little bit too pessimistic for her liking. Amber decided that he needed to lighten up a bit.

After the twins, Ginny was Amber's second favorite. She was nice, cheerful, and humorously sarcastic. She was always able to put her brothers back in their place.

Though she was now pretty good at pretending to be a dog, there was one thing that Amber found hard to overcome: fetch. The dreaded game in which a dog must retrieve a thrown object, like a ball or a Frisbee, and return it to their owner. Then, the object would be thrown again and the dog is expected to retrieve it as many times as their owner wishes, their tails wagging pathetically the whole time.

George was the one who started it. He and his siblings had been sprawled out on the living room floor with Amber nearby, their parents, Sirius, Tonks and Remus all on the couch or in chairs. George had absentmindedly been throwing an old, battered tennis ball up into the air and catching it as it came back down. Suddenly, his face lit up as he got an idea.

"Hey Lupin, does Snowy play fetch?" He asked. For a second, Remus just stared at George. Slowly, he shrugged, a smile forming on his lips.

"I don't know, we've never tried to play with her, but you can. Maybe Snowy will be nice and fetch for you." He said, trying hard not to laugh. Amber was horrified, why would Remus do that? Why wouldn't he just say no and spare Amber the torture? He couldn't possibly expect her to play that wretched game!

But apparently he did, because when George tossed the ball, Remus stared at her expectantly. Amber stared back, refusing to run after the ball.

"Come on Snowy, go get the ball!" Sirius said with a grin. Amber turned her head towards him, glaring at him. There was no way she was chasing after that stupid ball, like some kind of idiot!

"Snowy, go get the ball, go on!" George was saying. Amber stared at Sirius and Remus with the best puppy-dog look she could muster, but apparently, both of them had hearts of stone. They did nothing except to tell Amber to go get the ball, both of them grinning. Amber knew that she had lost.

Moving slowly, as though it were killing her, Amber got up and walked carefully towards the ball, resent showing in every step. When she got to it, Amber smelled it, and immediately jerked her head back. It smelled like old socks.

With a glare at Sirius and Remus, Amber lowered her head and shuddered as she picked up the ball with her teeth. Fighting the urge to gag, Amber tried to ignore the taste of dust and old rubber. Quickly, she brought the ball back to George, dropping it right in front of him.

"That's a good girl!" George praised. Then, to Amber's horror, he threw the ball again! Sirius and Remus were trying their hardest not to laugh. Amber had to force herself to fetch the ball as the Weasley kids took turns tossing it for her.

Chasing after the ball after Ginny threw it, Amber was forced to skid to a quick stop to avoid colliding with the little creature that had just walked into the room. Amber immediately recognized it as a house elf, and an ugly one at that.

All at once, all of the Weasley kids began to talk at once. Amber couldn't understand a word she was saying, but apparently Sirius and Remus could as they started to answer questions.

"He's our house elf, Kreacher."

"No he's not a spy!"

"Or a Death Eater!"

"Yes, we're sure."

"No you can't hex him!"

"Kreacher just get out of here!" Sirius said dismissively to the elf. Kreacher nodded as she eyes went over everyone in the room with disdain.

"What master wants is what master gets." He said with an evil look. He didn't move though, he stayed where he was, studying everybody.

"My mistress would never allow filthy traitors in her house!" Kreacher spat, his eyes resting on the Weasleys.

"Or tainted half-bloods (Remus) or any filthy scum (Amber) oh what has master done to his mother's house?" Kreacher wailed. By now, Sirius was shaking with anger, and everyone else was staring at Kreacher in shock.

"Kreacher, get out of here now!" Sirius said, his voice shaking with anger. Kreacher nodded and bowed, actually leaving this time.

"He's a right cheerful fellow." Fred said sarcastically. Everyone laughed, and some of the tension was lifted. Amber was just glad that everyone seemed to have forgotten about fetch.

"Tonks we better get going." Remus said a few minutes later, glancing at his watch. Tonks nodded, and both she and Remus stood up.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked. Remus smiled.

"To pick up a surprise for you." He said. Immediately Ron looked interested.

"What kind of surprise?" He asked. Remus glanced at Mrs. Weasley, who was beaming at her son. Her other children scowled at their brother.

"You'll see!" Remus said as he and Tonks left, leaving Ron looking slightly disappointed.

Later that night, Amber was in the bathroom attacked to her room, brushing her teeth. She wouldn't rest until the taste of that stupid old tennis ball was gone. Sirius was sitting on her bed, stroking Buckbeak gently.

"That was mean, just mean!" Amber said once she was finally satisfied. Sirius laughed.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad. Anyway, look at the bright side; you won't get sick because dogs can break down germs better than humans can. Besides, I've had to eat way worse things as a dog than that!" He said. Amber made a face.

"Ew, ew, ew! I don't want to hear it!" Amber cried covering her ears. Sirius smiled, and Buckbeak stared at her, looking slightly confused.

"And I don't want to talk about it. Anyway, you should go to bed." Sirius said, standing up. Amber nodded and crawled into bed as Sirius walked towards the door.

"Hey Sirius?" Amber called. Sirius stopped walking and looked back at her, slightly confused looking.

"Goodnight." Amber said rather timidly. Sirius smiled.

"Goodnight." He replied, blinking back tears. Amber never noticed, she'd already closed her eyes, a smile on her face.

**Author's Note: I watched mean girls lately…and one girl says fetch a lot, that's how I got the idea for the title of this chapter…wow I am weird…My chapters still not that long though…I only want it a little bit longer…just a tiny bit!**

**Oh and by the way, I actually love playing fetch with my dog, I can play it for hours, but then again, I'm not the one who has to carry the ball/stick/anything else I can find around the house/rock in my mouth…**


	13. Chapter 13: My Kind of Surprise

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Thirteen

'My Kind of Surprise'

"Ahh! Hermione, what are you doing here?" Ginny's shriek awoke Amber early the next morning. Yawning, Amber pulled the blanket over her head, wishing that she was just dreaming. That someone else hadn't just arrived really early in the morning, and that she could just go back to sleep.

For a few minutes, it seemed as though Amber's wish had come true, but then there were footsteps right outside her door. Buckbeak lifted his head wearily and stared at the door. Slowly, Amber lowered the blanket.

"Buckbeak is in her, and I think Snowy is too." Amber heard Ginny say.

"Snowy, who's Snowy?" An unfamiliar voice asked. Horrified, Amber realized that Ginny and her friend were coming into the room. In a second, Amber transformed into a dog, startling Buckbeak slightly. Not a moment too soon either, Ginny and a brown-haired girl burst into the room the second the transformation was complete.

"That's Snowy!" Ginny said, nodding towards Amber, who only had her head sticking out of the blanket. Amber took a second to study Ginny's friend, Hermione, her name was or something. She was fairly pretty, but Amber didn't see anything remarkably outstanding about her.

"Cute, but why is she underneath the blanket?" Hermione asked. Underneath her fur, Amber knew that she was blushing. Pretending that she couldn't understand them, Amber wagged her tail hard and barked loudly, trying to look cute.

"I don't know, but she's adorable!" Ginny said, taking a step towards Amber. She stopped dead when Buckbeak raised his head, snapping his beak angrily. Apparently, Amber wasn't the only one upset about being woken up so early.

"Snowy, come here!" Ginny called softly, watching Buckbeak warily. Satisfied, Beaky rested his head on his forelegs, watching as Amber slowly made her way over to the two girls, yawning loudly.

"Isn't she just the cutest thing?" Ginny asked, kneeling down next to Amber and petting her head. Amber wagged her tail for good measure.

"She's okay, but I don't really like dogs." Hermione said, barely glancing at Amber. Amber felt insulted, after all, how can a person not like dogs? And besides, Hermione hadn't even given her a chance!

"Where are Ron and the twins?" Hermione asked, looking slightly eager. Ginny smiled knowingly and nodded her head towards the door. Amber stared up at the two of them, feeling confused and left out. It was times like these that she wished she didn't have to pretend to be a dog.

"I'll show you!" Ginny said, getting to her feet. Hermione smiled, and the two of them left the room. Knowing that there was no point in going back to sleep now, Amber followed them, leaving Buckbeak to sleep in peace.

"Rom, the surprise is here!" Ginny said in a sing-song voice, coming into Ron's room. Apart from a low moan, there was no sign that Ron was actually alive.

"Come on Ron, you're really going to like it!" Ginny said, putting great emphasis on the really. There was still no movement. Ginny shook her head, smiling at Hermione.

"Come on Snowy, Wake him up! Come on girl!" Ginny said, patting the bed, staring at Amber. Amber stared up at her in horror. What was she supposed to do, lick him?

"Come on girl!" Ginny said, a slight pleading in her voice. Gulping softly, Amber jumped onto the bed, landing next to Ron, who still didn't move. Amber nosed him gently with her nose; still nothing.

Moving closer to his head, Amber stuck her head right by his ear and barked loudly. Ron shot up with a start, nearly making Amber fall off the bed. Both Ginny and Hermione burst out laughing, while Amber felt really embarrassed.

"Wha-, what's going on?" Ron asked, sounding both confused and scared. Ginny and Hermione continued laughing, and Ron was staring at them looking very puzzled. Then he glared at Amber, who just wagged her tail.

"We had to wake you up because the surprise is here!" Ginny said, finally calming down enough to speak. Ron perked up slightly and looked around excitedly. Finally, his eyes rested on Hermione, as if he hadn't noticed her before.

"Hermione!" He cried happily. Hermione blushed, and then Ron blushed. Ginny shook her head and rolled her eyes, while Amber felt as though she was missing something.

Ron opened his mouth to say something, but he was interrupted by two loud cracks. Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Amber all jumped as Fred and George apparated right next to the bed.

"We thought we heard Snowy barking." Fred said, sounding bored. George yawned loudly and nodded. Ron nodded and glared at Amber, who was gazing up at the ceiling.

"She was, Ron wouldn't wake up, so she helped." Ginny said, grinning widely. There was a faint smile on George's lips as he turned to Hermione.

"Hello Hermione, nice seeing you." He said, sounding just as a bored and tired as his twin. Hermione mumbled a hello, her face still bright red. Amber just sat there, trying to figure out what was going on. Obviously there was something between Ron and Hermione, that was easy enough to tell from Ginny's smug smile and the knowing looks the twins kept exchanging. Amber was frustrated that she couldn't figure out what it was; living for years only seeing three other people had made it nearly impossible for Amber to read people's faces.

"We just got here; Lupin and Tonks came and got me!" Hermione was saying, chattering away happily. It didn't take Amber long to grow bored and leave the room. She hoped this wasn't a sign that the Weasley kids were going to be boring now that Hermione was here.

She didn't know where to go, Buckbeak would be angry if she went back into her room and woke him up, but there wasn't really anywhere else to go. Amber ended up pacing restlessly up and down a hallway, wishing something exciting would happen.

Amber had only been pacing for a few minutes when Sirius walked out of one of the rooms. He stood in the doorway for a few seconds, just staring at Amber. Amber stopped; one paw lifted in the air, and stared back at him. After what felt like forever Sirius just smiled and walked away. Amber stared after him in amazement. Sirius never ceased to amaze her.

Finally Amber decided to go back to her room and sleep for a while. It was a little bit uncomfortable sleeping as a dog, but it helped to pass the time. Buckbeak didn't even open an eye when Amber came into the room.

Around two in the afternoon Remus came into the room and woke Amber up. Glaring at her as she stood, Amber wondered to herself why he couldn't just let her sleep. It's not like there was anything else to do.

"Come on downstairs, there's someone who would like to meet you." Remus said with a smile. He didn't say anything else and Amber felt like biting him. She hated the fact that dogs couldn't talk, it was very inconvenient.

Remus led Amber down into the kitchen. All of the Weasleys, Hermione, Tonks and Sirius were seated at the table, along with someone Amber hadn't seen before. He was an old man; Amber thought he looked ancient, with a crooked nose and half-moon glasses. The Weasley children each had looks of awe on their faces, and again Amber felt frustrated for being left out in the dark. She couldn't imagine why an old man would be anything to admire!

"So this is Snowy!" The man said, rising to his feet. Amber glanced at Remus, but he was busy staring at the man. Unsure of what to do, Amber decided that it was probably best if she just stayed where she was. The man walked over to her, kneeled and studied her with his pale blue eyes. Amber squirmed uncomfortably under her gaze.

"She's a good dog." The man stated simply. Remus grinned and then gave Amber a pointed look. She knew what the look meant; go upstairs. With a disgruntled growl, Amber left with the Weasley kids and Hermione following behind.

"Man, I don't think there's a single person who doesn't like Snowy, even Dumbledore likes her!" Fred said, patting Amber's head. Amber froze; that was Dumbledore in there? She'd heard Lucius talk about him, but from what Lucius had said, Amber had expected Dumbledore to look a lot scarier, be a little taller and well, not be so old. Shaking her head with amazement, Amber wondered how many more surprises she could take.

**Author's Note: I'm so sorry, life and school sort of got in the way, and a lack of interest, but here's another chapter! Sorry that's it's rushed, I just want to get on with the story; I'm getting sort of tired of writing meaningless chapters which actually are not all that meaningless. **


	14. Chapter 14: Not My Hero

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Fourteen

'Not My Hero'

Amber barely noticed as the days flew by. Even with the arrival of Hermione nothing really seemed to change. The only difference was that Fred and George had created extendable ears and were able to eavesdrop on the numerous meetings still held. That only lasted for a few meetings though, Mrs. Weasley discovered what they were doing and destroyed all but a few of the extendable ears. After that, life went back to being boring. Amber hadn't had a real conversation with anyone in ages. Remus or Sirius always talked to her at night, but only for two minutes at the most. They didn't want anyone to find out that Amber really wasn't a dog.

Hermione and the Weasley kids spent the days cleaning. For once, Amber was glad to be a dog, she hated cleaning and the house was filthy. She'd seen some pretty strange, scary-looking creatures lurking in empty rooms. Kreacher seemed to have taken a disliking to her and Amber avoided the house elf the best she could. Dobby had at least been nice and cheerful, not mentally ill.

For awhile Amber listened to the conversations between the Weasleys and Hermione, but after a while she gave up. She didn't understand most of what they talked about, and the rest of what they talked about made her feel depressed, especially when they talked about Hogwarts. Living with the Malfoys, Amber had never really realized how much she was missing out on. When Hermione talked about all the places she'd visited, Amber realized that she'd never even really thought about the world beyond the Malfoy's house and their cabin.

One night something happened the changed the mood inside Grimmauld Place. Amber wasn't sure what happened, the little bit that she understood was that someone had performed magic when they weren't supposed to. Everyone was really nervous and irritable. Amber did her best to stay out of their way after Mrs. Weasley yelled at her for being in the kitchen.

Amber stayed in Ron's room, where he and Hermione were talking in hushed voices. Amber had thought about finding Remus or Sirius to find out what was going on, but Remus had left a while ago with a bunch of other witches and wizards, and Sirius was keeping to himself. Resigned, Amber stayed curled up in a corner, hoping no one would bother her.

Suddenly, the door opened, Pigwidgeon, Ron's owl, started flying madly around the room while Hermione shrieked loudly and threw herself at whoever had opened the door. Amber jumped to her feet, startled, her teeth bared. When she realized what she was doing she quickly shook her head. The longer she stayed a dog, the more dog-like reflexes she was getting.

"HARRY! Ron he's here, Harry's here! We didn't hear you arrive! Oh, how are you? Have you been furious with us? I bet you have, I know our letters were useless - but we couldn't tell you anything, Dumbledore made us swear we wouldn't, oh we've got so much to tell you, and you've got things to tell us – the Dementors! When we heard – and the ministry hearing – it's just outrageous! I've looked it all up, they can't expel you, they just can't, there's a provision in the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery for the use of magic in life-threatening situations –" Hermione was saying. Amber's head hurt from a mixture of all the information and Hermione's loud voice. She could only imagine how the person Hermione was hugging felt.

"Let him breathe Hermione." Ron said, grinning widely as he closed the door. Hermione let go of the person and stepped back. It was a teenage boy, about Ron and Hermione's age. He was shorter than Ron and had untidy black hair. He had green eyes behind glasses. Amber wandered vaguely if she should know who this was. She quickly dismissed this thought, realizing that it didn't really matter if she should know him or not, she didn't know him and that's all that mattered.

Feeling bored, Amber quickly drowned out the voices of the three teenagers as they talked excitedly. She lied back down, wishing that they would just shut up. It was hard for her to think when they kept talking. Glaring at them, Amber got up to leave the room, but stopped dead when the new boy started yelling.

"SO YOU HAVEN'T BEEN IN THE MEETINGS, BIG DEAL! YOU'VE STILL BEEN HERE, HAVEN'T YOU? YOU'VE STILL BEEN TOGETHER! ME, I'VE BEEN STUCK AT THE DURSLEYS' FOR A MONTH! AND I'VE STILL HANDELED MORE THAN YOU TWO'VE EVER MANAGED AND DUMBLEDORE KNOWS IT – WHO SAVED THE PHILOSOPHER'S STONE? WHO GOT RID OF RIDDLE? WHO SAVED BOTH YOUR SKINS FROM THE DEMENTORS?" The boy yelled. Amber just stared at him, her eyes opening wide. Her sensitive ears hurt and she resisted the urge to run. To Amber, he seemed a bit ungrateful to his friends, but she didn't know everything that had happened either.

"WHO HAD TO GET PAST DRAGONS AND SPHINXES AND EVERY OTHER FOUL THING LAST YEAR? WHO SAW _HIM_ COME BACK? WHO HAD TO ESCAPE FROM HIM? ME!" The boy yelled. Amber looked at Ron and Hermione. Ron's mouth was half-opened and Hermione looked on the verge of tears.

"BUT WHY SHOULD I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON? WHY SHOULD ANYONE BOTHER TO TELL ME WHAT'S BEEN HAPPENING?" He continued shouting. Already Amber felt dislike towards him, even she knew it wasn't polite to come over to someone else's house and start yelling at people.

"Harry we wanted to tell you, we really did –" Hermione began.

"CAN'T'VE WANTED TO THAT MUCH, CAN YOU, OR YOU WOULD'VE SENT ME AN OWL, BUT DUMBLEDORE MADE YOU SWEAR –"

"Well he did-"

"FOUR WEKS I'VE BEEN STUCK IN PRIVET DRIVE, NICKING PAPERS OUT OF BINS TO TRY AND FIND OUT WHAT'S BEEN GOING ON-"

"We wanted to –"

"I SUPPOSE YOU'VE BEEN HAVING A REAL LAUGH, HAVEN'T YOU, ALL HOLED UP HERE TOGETHER –" Amber couldn't take it anymore, now the boy was just being downright mean. Moving quickly, she bit down hard on his leg before she realized what she was doing.

"Ow! What the –" The boy cried, looking down at Amber. She let go of his leg, horrified by what she'd just one. Ron and Hermione were staring at her, their mouths open, shock written all over their faces. Amber stepped back, certain the boy was going to hit her.

"Wha- who-" The boy stuttered, looking from Amber, to his leg and then back at Amber, disbelief in his eyes. Amber cowered low to the floor, shaking slightly.

"Whose dog is that?" The boy finally said after taking a deep breath. He looked at Ron and Hermione, who looked terrified that he was going to start yelling again.

"That's Snowy, Sirius' dog." Ron finally said, still staring at Amber. The boy, Harry, is that what Hermione had called him, was getting red in the face again.

"So Sirius couldn't even tell me that he got a dog!" He said bitterly, on the verge of yelling again. Hermione and Ron were saved by two loud cracks as the twins suddenly apparated into the room.

"Hello Harry." George said with a grin. "We thought we heard your dulcet tones."

"Snowy bit him!" Ron said quickly. George and Fred stared at their little brother in disbelief and then looked at Amber.

"Snowy bit him." Fred repeated, saying each word with a weird emphasis. Ron nodded and Harry blushed.

"Wow, she's never bit anyone, better watch your back Harry, she'll eat you for sure." Fred said with a grin. Harry blushed again as he quickly changed the subject. Relieved that she wasn't in trouble, Amber slowly slunk out of the room. She decided to go back to her room and hide for a while, in case Harry decided that he really did want to punish her.

Jumping up on her bed, Amber ignored the glare Buckbeak gave her and sat down. Her head was filled with many different thoughts as she tried to figure out who the boy was. Try as she might though, she couldn't figure out who it was.

Amber was so deep in thought that she didn't notice that Sirius had come into the room until Beaky greeted him. Startled, Amber jumped slightly as Sirius sat down on the bed next to her. He'd closed the door, which usually meant that he wanted to talk. Quickly Amber changed back into a human.

"Tonight's been interesting." Sirius stated. Amber waited for him to elaborate on that, but he didn't say anything. Finally, Amber nodded.

"Yup, who is that boy?" She asked, watching Beaky carefully. The Hippogriff had a hungry look in his eye, and Amber had learnt that that usually meant trouble.

"You don't know who that is?" Sirius asked in disbelief, turning to stare at Amber. Amber shifted uncomfortably.

"No, if I knew who it was I wouldn't be asking you." She pointed out. Sirius chuckled and looked at the wall.

"That's Harry Potter." He said. Horror filled Amber as his words sunk in. She'd just bitten Harry Potter, the most famous wizard alive!

"Oh God." Amber muttered, holding her head in her hands. Sirius looked at her curiously.

"What?" He asked. Amber looked up at him, feeling herself blushing.

"I bit him!" She said. Sirius stared at her for a few seconds and then burst out laughing. Amber's face grew hotter and she wished that she was anywhere but here.

"You bit him?" Sirius asked, as if he just couldn't believe it. Amber nodded slowly, wishing that she was invisible.

"Yes, he was yelling at Ron and Hermione and well, it just sort of happened! I didn't mean to, but- " She said, letting her voice trail off. Once he calmed down, Sirius started to say something, but he was interrupted by loud yelling.

"_Filth! Scum! By-products of dirt and vileness! Half-breeds, mutants, freaks, begone from this place! How dare you befoul the house of my fathers-_" With a sigh Sirius jumped to his feet and Amber quickly changed back into a dog. She couldn't imagine who was yelling now, the voice wasn't Harry's, and no one she'd met so far would start yelling about half-breeds and mutants.

Following Sirius out of the room Amber was surprised to see a portrait of a terrifyingly ugly woman. The portrait had always been covered by curtains and Amber had never heard it yell before.

Feeling slightly frightened, Amber went back into her room. The old woman's screeches soon stopped and she was finally able to think.

She was in the same house as Harry Potter, Draco's enemy, a person she'd been taught to hate. Draco had always told her how cruel and mean Harry was, and so far, Amber had to agree with him. But everyone else here seemed to love him. Amber felt so confused; at least life had been easy to understand with the Malfoys!

From what Harry had said, about him saving some stone and fighting Dementors, it did sound like he was a hero. But were hero's supposed to freak out on their friends? Amber didn't think so. With a sigh Amber glanced back out into the hallway. Sirius was talking to Harry and Amber felt a wave a jealously wash over her. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the feeling. She had no reason to be jealous, she didn't even like Sirius! Or so she tried to convince herself.

With another sigh Amber looked at Beaky. He was staring out into the hallway; his hungry looked replaced with an interested one. _Just because Potter is everyone else's hero, doesn't mean that he has to be mine!_ Amber thought. And she'd stand by it too.

**Author's Note: Don't worry, I don't take it as an insult, and I actually agree with you. That chapter was so hard to write, as I hadn't lived in Amber's head for a few months and I had just finished reading that amazing book which made me take a hit on my self-esteem. I'm going to have to rewrite that chapter at one point; I apparently didn't make something clear in it. I hope this chapter is better.**


	15. Chapter 15: My Mother's Sucide

Padfoot's Puppy

Chapter Fifteen

'My Mother's Suicide'

Amber spent the next few days in her room with Buckbeak; refusing to come out no matter how many times Sirius and Remus asked her to. Harry's arrival had put her in a bad mood and she wasn't ready to come out of it yet. If anyone came near her she growled at them, not caring who it was.

Amber resented Harry for two reasons: the first was that with his arrival everyone, including Sirius and Remus, seemed to forget all about her. The other was that ever since he'd showed up, she'd begun to have terrible nightmares.

They were always the same; they started out with her as a little girl, walking along a stormy beach with her mother. Neither of them spoke, but they'd walk hand in hand, the darkness closing around them. Finally, once the beach turned to rocky to continue walking, her mother would turn to her but her face was always hidden by a veil. Her mother would reach down and gently brush her hand against Amber's cheek, and as she did, a terrible screaming would fill Amber's head. Then, with the screaming continuing, images flashed in her mind. Her mother's tear-streaked face, her standing alone in the rain, hiding in a closet as someone pounded on the door, and finally her mother's body, gently swinging back and forth on the rope. Usually Amber awoke at this point, but tonight, she didn't.

The images and the screaming stopped and Amber was once again standing on the beach with her mother. Very slowly Amber raised her arms and touched her mother's veil, feeling it between her fingers. Then, Amber pulled gently on the veil and it came off, revealing her mother's face.

Instead of the beautiful face Amber remembered she was staring up at a face so hideously scarred and cut up she couldn't recognize it. Blood was dripping from fresh cuts and her eyes were bright red instead of icy blue. Amber screamed and fell backwards. As she fell it seemed as though hundreds of hands were trying to grab her, trying to suffocate her.

"Amber, Amber wake-up!" Amber's eyes flew open and it took her a moment to realize that she was no longer on the beach with her mother. Instead she was in her bedroom at Grimmauld Place with Remus. The hands that had been grabbing her had been his, shaking her awake.

"Amber, are you okay?" Remus was asking but Amber barely heard him. She could still see her mother's face, blood dripping…

"It's okay, shh, it's okay, you're safe." Remus said, hugging her. Only then did Amber realize that she was crying and shaking uncontrollably.

"It was just a dream, you're okay." Remus whispered. Amber tried to speak but it was as if she were frozen. All she could think of was her mother's face.

"Shh, its okay, you're okay." Remus said, stroking her hair gently. Slowly Amber began to feel as though she could move again. The image was beginning to fade from her mind but try as she might, Amber could not stop crying or shaking.

"It was just a dream, it was just a dream." Remus repeated. Even though Amber knew the words were true she didn't believe it. It'd had seemed real, from the smell of the ocean to the roar of the wind.

For what seemed like hours that's how they stayed, Remus trying to comfort Amber and Amber shaking and crying. Finally Amber calmed down a bit. Tears still ran down her cheeks but finally she was able to think of something other than her mother's face. Not that her new thoughts were any more comforting.

"T-they didn't take her down rig-right away." Amber whispered. Remus stared down at her, his eyes showing his confusion. To Amber's gratitude, he didn't say anything.

"They didn't notice w-when I left but I just h-had to see for myself. I thought they were lying." Amber said, more to herself than to Remus.

"T-the door was open so I looked in. And then I saw h-her." Amber said, causing fresh tears to tumble down her cheeks.

"You dreamed about your mother?" Remus guessed. Amber nodded. Then, very slowly, she told him her dream. She felt like a pressure had been lifted once she was finished.

"It was just a dream though." Remus said. Amber didn't say anything. It hadn't seemed like just a dream.

"How'd you know I was having a nightmare?" Amber asked a little while later. She was underneath the blankets now, curled up in a little ball. She was supposed to be going to sleep but she felt wide awake. Remus, sensing that she didn't want to be alone, had stayed in her room and was sitting on the floor, stroking Buckbeak.

"I heard you scream." He said. Amber was horrified. If Remus had heard her scream, than that meant that everyone else had heard her scream as well.

"So I woke everyone up?" Amber asked slowly, her voice revealing her embarrassment. Remus smiled.

"You woke Ginny up but that's all. I told her it was just another portrait, much like Sirius' mum, and she went back to bed." He said. Amber sighed in relief.

"Thank God." She muttered. Remus' smile widened but he remained silent.

In the silence, Amber's thoughts returned to her mother. There had been a funeral but she hadn't been allowed to go. The Malfoy's had wanted to keep her a secret. She didn't even know where her mother was buried, and she had learned quickly not to ask. One day, she had promised herself, she would find her mother's grave.

"Why did your mother take you to the Malfoy's?" Remus asked suddenly. Amber thought for a second about not answering but then decided against it.

"She was friends with Narcissa at school." Amber replied. Even in the dark she could see the sadness in Remus' eyes. Amber wanted to ask why he was sad but knew that it was rude to do so.

"Did you like living with them?" Remus asked. His question made Amber want to laugh.

"No way!" She said. She thought she saw Remus smile but she wasn't sure.

"Go to sleep now, it's only a few hours till sunrise." Remus said a few minutes later. Amber didn't say anything, she knew it was going to be a long time before she fell asleep.

**Author's Note: Well I'm back again! I was going to write this ages ago, but a spider kinda discouraged me from writing. And I wish I could say I'll be updating everyday again but I can't, I'm going away tomorrow and won't be back till the end of august. I'm sorry! And sorry it's short, and even if you guys may not think so, this chapter is actually very important…just so you randomly know that.**


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